“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23
We’re all in the construction business: we all build our lives. And, just like our homes, the foundation is what everything rests on. If the house’s foundation is weak, it can fail. The tricky thing about house foundations is they are largely unseen, including rebar, a key, strength-giving component. Throughout our lives, we make decisions with lasting effect, either reinforcing our foundation like rebar, or weakening it. If the foundation of our lives is weak, it too, can fail. It may not be as obvious as a house collapsing, but it leaves its own marks and scars.
Our lives’ foundations are really not visible to others. And, the foundation of those around us aren’t visible as we’re unable to see the heart. Only God can do that (1 Samuel 16:7). The good thing about all this is that we’re not responsible for the construction of each others’ foundation. We’re responsible for our own. Certainly, if something seems out of place, from what we can see, speaking in love with our fellow ‘construction worker’ could help their foundation becoming stronger.
While there are people who spend their lives building their homes, usually it doesn’t continue after the initial construction. Life building is vastly different! We’re continually building throughout the duration of our lives. It doesn’t stop. One decision leads to another, time after time, and we put another ‘brick in the wall.’ The most important ingredient in our lives is Jesus, and our relationship with him. This passage makes that very clear: Those who did these miraculous things had no relationship with Jesus. They were just wearing the right clothes and saying the right things. The decisions we make matter. Their impact leaves marks.
As you look at your life, wandering through one room after another, think about your foundation. What is your life built and dependent upon? Is the foundation constructed on a relationship with Jesus? Or are you going through the motions, copying what seem to be the right things to do, looking and sounding as if you’re part of something you’re not?
By Rich Obrecht
